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Snowden to SXSW Techies: Be the "Firefighters"

NSA leaker Edward Snowden spoke to theSouth by Southwest Interactive Festival via videoconference from Russia Monday. He accused the NSA "setting fire to the future of the Internet," and called Monday for the tech community to be "the firefighters." (Published Monday, March 10, 2014)

NSA leaker Edward Snowden accused the U.S. surveillance agency of “setting fire to the future of the Internet,” and called Monday for the tech community to be “the firefighters.”

The former NSA contractor received a warm reception while speaking at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival remotely via videoconference from Russia, where he's been granted temporary asylum.

Snowden appeared in front of a green-screen that showed Article One of the U.S. Constitution as a backdrop. He appeared to have no regrets about exposing the U.S. government's surveillance methods.

"And when it comes to would I do this again, the answer is absolutely yes," he told the audience.

Stars Steppin' Out

“I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution and I saw that the Constitution was being violated on a massive scale,” he added.

Snowden touched on a number of issues in the hour-long conversation. He dispensed advice on how U.S. citizens can keep their web-surfing activities more private by using a free service called Tor, which encrypts web traffic. He also called on the technology industry to create more software and services that help guard individual privacy.

Monday’s session began at 11 a.m. Central Time and ended about an hour later.